Unite Colorado

Building healthier communities together. Unite Colorado

Colorado

By Emily Rogan, Director of Communications, Unite Colorado

When Dan Brillman and Taylor Justice reentered civilian life after serving in the United States military, they both noticed a problem. Veterans needed help with a variety of social services, such as housing, employment, food assistance, and mental health. While the US Department of Veterans Affairs provides this type of support, the process can be inefficient, and social service organizations don’t always communicate effectively with one another. In 2013, Justice and Brillman launched Unite Us to solve this problem and address the unmet needs of the veteran and military community and their families, as they navigated the complex and overwhelming social services system. They recognized how important it is to bridge the gap between health and social care, breaking down silos and encouraging cross-sector collaboration to improve care delivery. What began to serve one population, has since evolved into a comprehensive solution to address the social determinants of health (SDoH). Unite Us is a technology company that builds coordinated care networks of health and social care providers in a secure, accountable ecosystem that puts people at the very center of care. Today, Unite Us is in more than 42 states, with 19 statewide networks, serving over 1500 counties. The Unite Us Platform improves organizations’ workflow and gives them back muchneeded time to work directly with their clients. In turn, clients only need to tell their stories once, reducing the trauma of repeatedly asking for help. Unite Colorado is a network of accountable health and communitybased organizations who serve their

clients more efficiently, with a userfriendly, secure technology. Through the Unite Us Platform, they can send and receive electronic referrals, as well as track the outcomes associated with those referrals. Providers in Colorado are already using the network to more effectively serve their target populations, as Unite Colorado currently includes 230 organizations with 585 programs accepting referrals, with more joining every day. The average time for network partners to accept referrals is less than one day, which means more people are getting help in less time. The network data show that the top three social care needs in Colorado are housing and shelter, food assistance, and employment. “Having worked in healthcare and grassroots non-profit, this is the sort of solution we’ve been looking for collectively to support people seeking assistance in a more robust way,” says Riley Bright, Executive Director at Harvest of Hope Pantry in Boulder, CO. “I’m confident that this Unite Us Platform is both inclusive for the big and small players, as well as user-friendly.” When organizations are connected through the Unite Us network, they receive an influx of support and resources, which translates to better and faster care for clients. The resulting data also helps organizations pinpoint gaps in services and drive investments where they’re needed most.

“Having worked in healthcare and grassroots non-profit, this is the sort of solution we’ve been looking for collectively to support people seeking assistance in a more robust way.”

“We are most excited to be part of the network because we want to work smarter and not harder,” says Stephanie R. Pacheco, Vice President of External Affairs with the Center for Work Education and Employment (CWEE). “We’re excited to streamline our referrals, as well as grow our own network of resources.” For years, the United States has spent more on health care than any other country, and yet still generates some of the poorest health outcomes in the world. Unite Us believes it is time to recognize that medical care alone does not equate to wellness—social care needs to be prioritized. Research shows that 80 percent of a person’s health has to do with what happens outside the clinical setting—where they live, eat, pray, work, and play. Community partners, health systems, health plans, and governments across the country rely on Unite Us’ secure and HIPAA-compliant platform to coordinate care. With robust protections and certifications aligned with industry-leading privacy and security frameworks such as HITRUST, Unite Us enables providers to improve the health of their clients and communities while maintaining privacy and trust. Unite Us is taking action toward improving community health across America. By joining the Unite Colorado network, local organizations can connect and share resources to better serve neighbors in need. “In the last year, we’ve been able to serve over 700,000 individuals facing food insecurity with 54.7 million meals,” says Cindy Mitchell, Vice President of Programs at the Food Bank of the Rockies. “We are excited to collaborate with Unite Colorado and other human service organizations to address root causes of food insecurity.” To learn more about the network, visit https://colorado.uniteus.com/.

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